King Combs is a 27 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from New York notable for the being the son of disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder, Sean John founder, Cîroc brand ambassador, Revolt founder & music industry mogul Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy and the late Kim Porter. His debut mixtape 90’s Baby as well as his first couple EPs Cyncerely, C3 & C3 were all released either moderately or negatively, but Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West has decided to solely produce C3’s newest EP in the midst of Diddy’s ongoing trial coming to a close.
“Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine” produced by Ye, The Legendary Traxster & Mario Winans was teased on Twitter way back in March & one that Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian had every right being mad at over their daughter North West appearing on the bridge regardless off The Hobbit’s weird relationship with a Tesla robot now whereas “Kim” remembers his mother over a chipmunk soul instrumental.
Ye actually appears on “People Like Me” chopping up a soul sample & throwing some hi-hats over it so he & King Combs can talk about needing people like them when one of them is a self-professed Nazi, but then “Diddy Free” unsurprisingly survived the In a Perfect World sessions by making it’s way onto this EP & King Combs not doing the beat any better than the man who made it did himself.
The song “Repeat Me” heavily builds itself around a slowed down sample of “Slauson Ave” by Karri subtly saying that this is his way of doing house compared compared to what Drake went with on Honestly, Nevermind ruined by the poor pop rap lyrics while “The List” makes it even worse with the “suck a n***a cock ’til I’m cockless” line. Finally, the closing track “Souls” butchers a chipmunk soul instrumental with repetitively annoying pop rap bars.
For all the hate Nasir for being rushed, at least an off-beat Nas was a far more interesting MC on there how King Combs sounds on Never Stop. I’ll play devil’s advocate & give him credit for actually writes his own lyrics unlike his father’s storied history with ghostwriters, although him getting the same treatment as everyone involved in the 2018 Wyoming sessions feels like a downgrade when you think of Ye’s production being wasted this way.
Disgraced Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder & YZY SND’s sole proprietor Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West finishing his 12th studio LP a month after dropping Bully. Someone who I personally have considered a top 10 producer of all-time up until this point with 3 perfect 10s in his discography: The College Dropout, Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. However since late 2022, he has been on a mission to destroy his legacy by identifying as a Nazi on Alex Jones’ fake news platform InfoWars. He’s been taking it up a few notches for the past couple months on Twitter owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & fellow Nazi Elon Musk making comments that’re antisemitic, ableist, homophobic & misogynistic or dissing numerous celebrities including showing envy towards Kendrick Lamar since he’s on the throne of the rap game. Coming off his vile interview with child groomer DJ Akademiks earlier this month, Ye has randomly decided to finish Donda 2.
“True Love” was an average pop rap, alternative R&B, emo rap, boom bap intro produced with Mike Dean talking about how genuine romance shouldn’t be complicated with a surprisingly great hook from the late XXXTENTACION whereas “Broken Road” pondering what it means to find your soul on top of a doleful beat that original G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Brian “AllDay” Miller had a hand with Ye in making & Don Toliver’s hook on here is so catchy. “Get Lost” goes a cappella looking back on all the good & bad memories of his life so far with an excessive amount of auto-tune slathering his vocals leading into “Flowers” throwing it back to the Graduation days in terms of sound courtesy of Digital Nas encouraging to send him $100k rather than the titular object.
As for “Too Easy”, we have Ye embracing a bit of a glitchier quality to the production thanks to Dem Jointz & Beach House discussing his trials & tribulations just before “Pablo” featuring Future follows it up with a trap cut that ATL Jacob, FNZ & $crim of the $uicideboy$ helped laced except Ye uses AI or what I like to call YeI for his verse. “Mr. Miyagi” featuring Future & Playboi Carti takes the drill route instrumentally likening themselves to the wise sensei from the Karate Kid films using more YeI until Future sticks around for “Happy” & it’s WAY better than “Pablo” other than the YeI from the peppier flare Wheezy delivers behind the boards to the subject matter asking the world if they look like they’re doing fine to them.
“Security” asserts that nothing can get in the way of him being with his family & Digital Nas’ production here almost reminds me of Yeezus in a way except Ak’s intro at the start was a sickening move while “Sci-Fi” works in some string sections as Sean Leon joins Ye in addressing his divorce from Kim Kardashian or The Hobbit now romantically involved with a Tesla robot. “Louie Bags” starts off great with its hypnotic beat & talking about boycotting LV after Virgil Abloh’s passing except Jack Harlow’s verse & the YeI ruin it. Can’t forget to mention the fact that Ye tweeted “Fuck Virgil” this February when his meltdowns began to worsen & has a song coming out at some point in the year called “Virgil Let Me Down” telling Ak it’s all because he’s evil.
Baby Keem appears with Quavo & Offset on “We Did It Kid” with Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group supplying additional production addressing the hardships they endured to achieve their current success & the product of their constant grind while the industrially drumless “Maintenance” talks about those who’s preservation or upkeep is constantly high. “Lord Lift Me Up” is a decent Vory solo cut BoogzDaBeast helped Ye cook up asking for God to lift up his spirits & “First Time in a Long Time” featuring Soulja Boy ends with them talking about Ye’s faith in God & his feelings stemming from his divorce from Kim using YeI as well as Big Draco’s humble beginnings & everything he’s done to achieve success. “Jesse” starts the deluxe run with a bubbly trap beat butchering it with YeI vocals while “Suzy” reminds me of Graduation minus the YeI. The final bonus track “City of Chi” gets plagued with YeI again talking about being closed for business.
Hearing the original version of this that came out 3 years ago, I’m happy & furthermore shocked than anything regarding Donda 2 finally getting to see the light of day except I don’t think those who won’t find themselves forgiving Ye for initially abandoning it won’t find themselves satisfied with it & I’ll argue the final product isn’t even that much better than Bully was. The pop rap, trap, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B & gospel sound hasn’t really changed all that much except that the mixing is considerably worse since Mike Dean literally hasn’t had anything to do with Ye in 2 & a half years by now. When it’s all said & done: Neither album is all that great & WW3 (I’m not calling at the other name fuck that shit) will take the shitcake as the worst one of them all & the final death blow to Ye’s career.
Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder & YZY SND’s sole proprietor Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West subtly posting his 11th full-length studio LP in it’s current unfinished state on his Twitter. Someone who I personally have considered a top 10 producer of all-time up until this point with 3 perfect 10s in his discography: The College Dropout, Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He’s sadly been on a mission to destroy his legacy since late 2022 by identifying as a Nazi on Alex Jones’ fake news platform InfoWars, where he aired out his grievances towards the co-founder of UFC & WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings & it’s owner Endeavor Group Holdings’ CEO Ari Emanuel in that same interview. Ye’s been taking it up a few notches for the past 5 weeks on Twitter owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & fellow Nazi Elon Musk making comments that’re antisemitic, ableist, homophobic & misogynistic or dissing the likes of the late Virgil Abloh & showing envy forKendrick Lamar since he’s on the throne of the rap game. In the midst of his Twitter meltdown lasting over a month, he posted a link to Bully only 3 months ahead of its originally scheduled date a little after hanging out with white supremacist Nick Fuentes of the Groypers.
“Preacher Man” is actually a decent drumless intro sampling “To You With Love” by The Moments wanting you to trust him when he goes God mode whereas “Can’t Hurry Love” flips an iconic Supremes track of the same name even though it’s ruined by the AI vocals he’s been incorporating onto his more recent output or what I personally would like to call YeI. “White Lines” samples Stevie Wonder’s cover “Close to You” by The Carpenters except any & all potential it had going for it gets derailed with even more YeI vocals just before “Circles” butchers a sample of “Huit Octobre 1971” by Cortex with underwritten lyrics & piss poor singing. Listen to “1 Beer” by Madvillain instead.
The title track brings the YeI vocals back in the fold ruining a sample of “Mujhe Maar Daalo” by Ashle Bhostle leading into “Last Breath” featuring Peso Pluma being a full-blown YeI cut sung in Spanish desecrating “Besame Mama” by revered conguero Poncho Sanchez. One of the earliest joints teased “Beauty & the Beast” returns to Ye’s chipmunk soul roots sampling “Don’t Have to Shop Around” by The Mad Lads even if Mike Dean said it was a DONDA leftover & “Showtime” co-produced by James Blake & even Ye’s mentor No I.D. flips “Walk on the Wild Side” by Lou Reed talking about ready to go to war with his Hobbit ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
“Highs & Lows” continues to work in more YeI vocals fucking up a sample of “soleil soleil” by Pomme that is until “Melrose” by ¥$ (pronounced Yen-Dolla or Ye N Dolla) featuring Playboi Carti awkwardly sticks out like a sore thumb considering that Ye recently dissed Carti on Twitter amongst others. To make it funnier, the YeI gets utterly outperformed by both Ty$ & Carti’s verses. The way Ye samples “Feelings” by the late Nina Simone on “Damn” was cool even if the songwriting is lazily repetitive applying to a lesser extent when 1srael of Working on Dying helps Ye flip “Vitamin C” by Can on “Losing Your Mind”.
The visuals directed by Hype Williams were surprisingly enjoyable as a fan of the ブシロード-owned 新日本プロレス adding onto his recent attendances at shows promoted by the サイバーファイト-owned division プロレスリング・ノア & DDTプロレスリング’s sister promotion 東京女子プロレス (TJPW). Appearances in the video include former NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座 & IWGPジュニアタッグ王座 ヨウ, former 3-time IWGPタッグ王座, 6-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座 & GHCタッグ王座 矢野 通, AJPW世界ジュニアヘビー級王座, NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion, 6-time IWGPジュニアヘビー級王座, 2-time IWGPジュニアタッグ王座 & 2-time GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグ王座 タイガーマスクIV and the current IWGPジュニアヘビー級王座 in his 5th reign エル・デスペラード who was a former CMLL Arena Coliseo Parejas Campeon, a 4-time IWGPジュニアタッグ王座, NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座 & GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグ王座.
To say Ye’s behavior these past several weeks is nothing more than embarrassing for anyone with common decency & especially for everyone like me who came from generations that were influenced by him would be such a massive understatement. He’s clearly unwell mentally, admitting his mother Donda’s death in 2007 caused him to have suicidal thoughts daily & recently not having those urges since beginning his Twitter hate speech tirade. Would never thought that Ye could make anything worse in his discography than Jesus is King, yet here we are with Bully. I commend his production for the sample-heavy sound, with my biggest complaints being the use of YeI & it clearly being unfinished.
This is the 2nd & seemingly final full-length LP from superduo ¥$ (pronounced Yen-Dolla or Ye n Dolla) consisting of Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer Ty$ alongside Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, one of my top 10 producers of all-time, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West. We’ve seen them together a handful of times for nearly a decade on tracks like “Guard Down”, most specifically “Real Friends”, “Ego Death” & “Everything We Need”. However, the first installment of the Vultures trilogy came on the 20 year anniversary of my favorite Ye album The College Dropout to mixed reviews. Anthony Fantano even labeled it as “unreviewable trash” although I personally thought it had it’s highlights despite both KIDS SEE GHOSTS & Watch the Throne being significantly better. 5 months after it’s initial March date, Vultures 2 is finally here.
“Slide” is an impressive pop rap, hip house & alternative R&B crossover with additional elements of experimental hip hop that Ye, Wheezy, Fred again.., London on da Track & Leon Thomas III produced together asking Zalia & Bianca Censori if they would ride of them whereas “Time Moving Slow” turns the hip house influences up to 11 courtesy of The Legendary Traxster reflecting on past relationships although it’s gross that Ye has dominion over her.
Don Toliver, Kodak Black & Playboi Carti all join ¥$ for what could very well be the most anticipated track off the album “Field Trip” & it sure delivers with it’s alarm raising instrumental that Wheezy & Dez Wright cook up together sampling one of my favorite Portishead songs “Machine Gun” near the end getting romantic with their partners except Ye briefly using AI for his part was pointless prior to the rage-inducing “Fried” coming off a spiritual successor to “Carnival” reenlisting The Inter Milan Ultras on background vocals & Outtatown behind the boards cautioning not to fuck with them because they’re exhausted.
After the “Isabella” skit, “Promotion” featuring Future works in organs & hi-hats to talk about heartless lovemaking that is until “Husband” solely produced by Ye kinda throws it back to the 808s & Heartbreak era minus the auto-tune saying that family heals. “Lifestyle” featuring Lil Wayne samples “LOVE IS GONE” by Nico Baran of Internet Money Records talking about their significant others wanting to live the lifestyles they do just before James Blake provides “Forever” a predominantly more atmospheric & melodic tone overall singing about the possibility of hoping they can last forever with Ye unfortunately using AI again.
“Bomb” featuring Ye’s daughters Chicago & North West alongside Yuno Miles gives off a Jersey Club rap vibe to boast including a Japanese portion interestingly enough leading into “River” featuring Young Thug & it’s entrancingly spirit-lifting trap beat from Pi’erre Bourne & Digital Nas tackling false ideologies in the rap scene calling for Thug to come home. My favorite song here “5:30 / Dear Summer” assisted by E*vax feels like a legitimate College Dropout throwback other than the lazy AI ending, but then “Dead” featuring Future & Lil Durk hops over an intoxicating instrumental from ATL Jacob talking about how they can’t be playing with these diamonds & money.
Lil Baby appears on “Forever Rollin’” bringing a ghostly trap flare to the table addressing loyalty while the guitar-driven “Sky City” featuring CyHi the Prynce with BoogzDaBeast & Timbaland on co-production gets unearthed from the Yandhi sessions except it’s ruined by AI again. “My Soul” featuring Big Sean on the remix ends Vultures 2 lettingBoogz, DJ Camper, FNZ, 30 Roc & YZY SND Head of Music 88-Keys blending gospel & hip hop in the vein of DONDA so ¥$ can pay tribute to the 4,000+ prisoners in California being used to put out the wildfires that have been ravaging the state for the last 3 decades additionally dissing Adidas.
“Take Off Your Dress” starts the deluxe run sampling “Please Make It Good Again” by Talmadge Armstrong likening their partners to supermodels while “Gun to My Head” featuring KiD CuDi reunites KIDS SEE GHOSTS sampling “Blindside” by Alice Merton talking about not being too hard to find. JPEGMAFIA fresh off his superiorly better new album I Lay Down My Life for You & BoogzDaBeast flip “Super Sharp Shooter” by the Ganja Kru for “Believer” clarifying that Christians don’t like to admit that they like to sin & the hip house flavored “Drunk” by Bad Bunny, Kodak Black & Peso Pluma talks about being fucked up. “Can U Be” featuring Travis Scott ends the bonus track run with a hip house Havoc beat asking if one is afraid.
The sequel to Vultures finds ¥$ taking themselves below the predecessor as a whole listening experience although the sound compared to the debut goes from pop rap to hip house, alternative R&B, experimental hip hop, rage, Jersey Club rap, the chipmunk soul sound Ye helped pioneer, trap, gospel music & rap rock pretty much mixing old & new sounds together. I don’t like the use of AI in music because I feel like the way that Ye utilizes it as lazy compared to The D.O.C. & Beanie Sigel both saying they’re working on new albums using AI on their voices. It’s about how you use that technology & he doesn’t use it to elevate himself musically.
¥$ (pronounced Yen-Dolla or Ye n Dolla) is a superduo consisting of Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & producer Ty$ alongside Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, one of my top 10 producers of all-time, fashion designer & former G.O.O.D. Music founder Ye formerly known as Kanye West. We’ve seen them together a handful of times for nearly a decade on tracks like “Guard Down”, “Real Friends”, “Ego Death” & “Everything We Need”. However with my favorite Ye album The College Dropout turning 20 today, ¥$ are officially kicking off the Vultures trilogy ahead of the sequel in March & the final chapter in April.
“Stars” co-produced by Digital Nas, FNZ & most importantly JPEGMAFIA samples “Good Luck” by Dijon to begin things talking about ripping up contracts & keeping “a few Jews on the staff now” in reference to Ye calling himself a Nazi on InfoWars whereas “Keys to My Life” takes the hazy trap route thanks to Timbaland explaining that it wasn’t always like this. “Paid” explains they’re only here to stack bread as KAYTRANADA & Wax Motif flip “Brighter Days” by Cajmere leading into “Talking / Once Again” featuring Ye’s oldest daughter North West finds her dad’s mentor No I.D., Swizz Beatz, DJ Camper & even James Blake help blend alternative R&B, jersey club rap, gospel, pop rap & art pop as they address that “the clouds are gatherin’ to release what they held in”.
Meanwhile, “Back to Me” featuring a jaw-dropping Freddie Gibbs verse details their sexual desires including Ye referencing Jay & Silent Bob in Dogma or a bar Freddie had about Twitter owner, Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder Elon Musk over YZY SND’s head of music 88-Keys sampling “Rock Box” by Run-D.M.C. just before “Hoodrat” dabbles into rap rock territory overdoing it with the Latarian Milton vocal chops & ¥$ continuing the themes of romance by expressing the divine beauty they see in both of their current partners Bianca Censori & Zalia respectively. “Do It” featuring a Nipsey Hu$$le intro & a YG verse near the end mixes these strings & hi-hats thanks to Wheezy, DJ Mustard & Cubeatz as they try to make a movie just before the heavily distorted “Paperwork” featuring Quavo talks about getting their paper right.
“Burn” might be my favorite on the LP speaking on a dangerous kind of love as Chicago veteran The Legendary Traxster & Leon Thomas III sonically throw it back to the Late Registration days while “Fuk Sum’n” featuring Playboi Carti & Travis Scott is this experimental trap 2-parter looking to do exactly that. Havoc’s remix of the title track featuring Bump J & Lil Durk is the only version of it that exists to me going for a cloudier vibe as opposed to the Chicago drill influence of the original except the “How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch” line is still trash, but then the aptly titled “Carnival” featuring Playboi Carti & surprisingly Rich the Kid samples “Hell of a Life” off my 2nd favorite Ye album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy talking about her “riding the dick like a carnival” ride.
Starting the last leg of the album, “Beg Forgiveness” with co-production from London on da Track has to be one of the most tiring moments heavily building itself around “Gabriel” by Joe Goddard for nearly 6 whole minutes while “Good (Don’t Die)” picks things back up with will.i.am sampling “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer talking about their hearts being ice cold & the thoughts that keep them up all night. “Problematic” talks about feeling like they beat a murder case over Chad Hugo’s horns & the epic closer “King” addresses that they thought the headlines were Ye’s kryptonite when it’s really his antisemitic behavior.
KIDS SEE GHOSTS’ self-titled debut & even The Throne’s only album Watch the Throne are superior in comparison, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy a pretty solid amount of Vultures & I’m hoping the next 2 installments of the trilogy are superior. The first chapter has a predominant experimental hip hop & pop rap sound with additional elements of trap music, hip house & alternative R&B as Ye breaks down everything that’s happened these last couple years although I don’t like the way he handled the backlash that he got for the antisemitic comments.
This is the 4th full-length album from Virginia Beach, Virginia emcee, songwriter & record executive Pusha T. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo Clipse alongside his older brother No Malice about 3 decades ago, their debut Lord Willin’ & their sophomore effort Hell Hath No Fury would go on to become some of the best of the 2000s & essentials in the coke rap scene. But following the brothers’ final album together ‘Til the Casket Drops, they would disband after No Malice became a born again Christian & resulted in Push signing to Kanye West’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint G.O.O.D. Music as a solo act. He has since made himself home under Ye’s wing by dropping 3 solo efforts, with the last one being the Kanye-produced DAYTONA in the spring of 2018 & one of the greatest diss tracks of all-time “The Story of Adidon” merely days later. But after 4 long years, Push is returning with It’s Almost Dry.
“Brambleton” opens up the album with a cloudy yet rubbery instrumental from longtime collaborator Pharrell & lyrics addressing Pusha’s relationship with his former manager Geesy whereas “Let the Smokers Shine the Coups” has a more triumphant tone to it saying he’s just here to find the truth. Kanye tags along for “Dreamin’ of the Past” sampling “Jealous Guy” by Donny Hathaway to belittle their competition referencing Amblin Partners which the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal has a minority stake in, but then JAY-Z comes into the picture for “Neck & Wrist” working in some experimental undertones talking about the rapstar life.
Meanwhile on “Just So You Remember”, we have Push reminding the whole world who they’re fucking with over a sample of “6 Day War” by Colonel Bagshot that Ye alongside BoogzDaBeast & FNZ bring to the table just before “Diet Coke” flips “Take the Time to Tell Her” by Jerry Butler taking jabs at those who be selling impure shit. KIDS SEE GHOSTS reunite 1 last time for “Rock n Roll” due to KiD CuDi & Kanye’s falling out talking about how this is their story over a sample of “1+1” by Beyoncé leading into the eerie “Call My Bluff” telling listeners that everything don’t need to be addressed.
“Scrape It Off the Top” has a more playful sound to it as Lil Uzi Vert helps Push spit them coke bars & “Hear Me Clearly” was one of my favorites off Nigo’s recent solo debut I Know Nigo, so I’m happy he put it on here. The penultimate track “Open Air” incorporates some flutes talking about slanging powder in an unenclosed space outdoors & “Labyrinth” ends the album with an organ-heavy Clipse reunion talking about all the people they pray for.
This has been one of my most anticipated albums of 2022 for a minute now & boy it did not disappoint. He continues to spit the gangsta rap we all know & love, except Kanye & Pharrell’s production is like yin & yang with the Chicago genius’ signature chipmunk soul sound that he came up on or the some of the pop rap undertones coming from some of the cuts that the Virginia visionary has to offer.
This is the 10th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, one of my top 10 producers of all-time, businessman, fashion designer & supposed politician Kanye West. What can be said now about this man that hasn’t been said already? Regardless of how you feel about his public image, you can’t deny his creativity nor the impact his discography has had on hip hop over the last 17 years. More specifically The College Dropout & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The last time we heard him in secular form was back in 2018 with ye, which in my opinion doesn’t get enough appreciation for detailing his struggles with bipolar disorder even to this day. Kanye later became a born-again Christian & went into gospel rap territory for his previous album Jesus is King in which the music was fine, but the mix was absolutely horrendous. But now after a embarrassing attempt at becoming president of the United States last fall & divorcing his Hobbit ex-wife, one can only go into DONDA expecting Ye to get a lot off his chest.
After the tedious “Donda Chant” intro, the first song “Jail” is a rock-tinged kickstarter with The Throne returning saying God’s gonna post their bail with co-production from Mike Dean alongside Dem Jointz & 88-Keys whereas “God Breathed” featuring E*Vax helping behind the boards with some choir vocals hanging in the back encouraging the listener to put their faith in the higher power. Playboi Carti & Fivio Foreign tag along for the trap-tinged “Off the Grid” co-produced by with 30 Roc proclaiming they did everything for the crib just before the Lil Baby-assisted “Hurricane” brings in some organs & snares with co-production from DJ Khalil & Ronny J to tell God to hold them close.
Meanwhile on “Praise God”, we have Baby Keem & Travis Scott joining forces to say they’re gonna praise their way out the grave helping work in an organ & choir vocals leading into “Jonah” with Lil Durk & Vory having some hypnotizing production as well as lyrics about loneliness. “Ok Ok” is an atmospheric cut co-produced with Boi-1da linking up with Lil Yachty & Rooga to call out those who’ve betrayed them, but then ¥$ & Carti pay homage to Junya Watanabe on the organ-bass infused “Junya” assisted by Digital Nas.
“Believe What I Say” does a fine job at sampling the iconic Lauryn Hill joint “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” telling the listener not to let the lifestyle drag you down whereas “24” brings back in some organs to say God’s not finished. “Remote Control” with Young Thug satirizes society these days with an ambient backdrop & snares whereas “Moon” is the greatest interlude of the year hands down, with Don Toliver & KiD CuDi hitting every note perfectly as the guitars that’re wailing behind them.
The way “Heaven & Hell” samples Drum Broker’s “Arena” is really cool with Ye standing up to to the system & after the titular interlude co-produced by BoogzDaBeast, another standout “Keep My Spirit Alive” with Hall ‘N Nash finds the trio saying “you can take it all with the Lord on my side” over a cloudy instrumental & Ye should’ve NEVER fucked with KayCyy’s hook to begin with. Jay Electronica & The LOX come in for the gorgeous “Jesus Lord” co-produced by Swizz Beatz & Gesaffelstein wanting to know someone who needs God, but then “New Again” sounds like a throwback to the Graduation days production-wise talking about being born again.
“Tell the Vision” from the latest posthumous Pop Smoke album Faith feels out of place given that Ye has no presence on this version, but “Lord I Need You” makes up for it with it’s pillowy beat co-produced by FNZ & Wheezy as Ye asks God to wrap his arms around him whereas the Roddy Ricch-assisted “Pure Souls” fuses organs with bass & handclaps to say “The truth is only what you get away with”.
The penultimate track “Come to Life” with Jeff Bhasker is an luxurious ballad pondering if you’ve ever wished you had another life & finally, “No Child Left Behind” ends the album with a straight up gospel ballad saying God has done miracles on him. We are then treated to alternate versions of “Jail”, “Ok Ok”, “Junya” & “Jesus Lord” as bonus cuts.
It should really go without saying that DONDA is what Jesus is King should’ve been & it’s a respectable tribute to Ye’s mom. There are a tad bit of filler cuts running at 27 joints & nearly 2 hours, but the mix sounds so much better in comparison to the last album.
Sunday Service is a gospel outfit lead by Chicago, Illinois’ very own Kanye West. The group was put together earlier this year when the latter became a born-again Christian & he has been going all around the world with them for his weekend live performances of the same name. Kanye just released his gospel debut Jesus is King exactly 2 months ago to polarizing reception & even I myself felt like it was his 2nd weakest album thus far, right behind Yeezus. Reason being because the music on that album was fine, but the mixing was just so horrendous. And just when we thought he wouldn’t drop Jesus is Born over here when it was announced the day before Jesus is King came out, Ye actually stood by his word this time around.
The album starts off with “Count Your Blessings”, where a choir sings about being more positive in your life. The song right after “Excellent” is about how great God is over an organ while the track “Revelations 19:1” is a musical version of the titular Bible passage over some settle piano passages. The song “Rain” completely ruins the SWV joint of the same name & while the track “Balm in Gilead” has a calming instrumental, it sounds like Kanye & company wrote it in less than a minute.
The next 3 songs are all redundant Christianized versions of “Father Stretch My Hands”, “Fade” & “Ultralight Beam” off of Kanye’s 2016 album The Life of Pablo whereas the track “Lift Up Your Voices” talks about giving praises over some low-pitched keyboards as well as handclaps. The song “More Than Anything” speaks on how the only person they love most in life is God & I actually love how the instrumental gets more layered as it progresses.
The track “Weak” talks about how strong their love for God is over some horns later transitioning into an smooth instrumental while the song “That’s How the Good Lord Works” touches down on not questioning God over a beautiful piano instrumental. The track “Sunshine” is all about how Jesus makes their day over some plinky piano chords & intense live drumming & despite the song “Back to Life” having an upbeat instrumental & that I actually like, there’s not much for me to write home about lyrically.
The track “Souls Anchored” talks about being set free over a skeletal instrumental while the song “Sweet Grace” talks about how great His glory is over a more lush instrumental. The track “Paradise” is a ballad about how accepting God will make you at peace while the song “Satan, We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down” is a decent anti-Hell anthem. The album finally ends with “Total Praise”, where the choir predominantly sings the word “Amen” for 3 & a half minutes.
I was really hoping that Kanye would refine what he did on Jesus is King for this new album, but boy I was wrong. In fact, I’d argue that this actually worse than his last album was. I have nothing against gospel music whatsoever & I’m happy that Ye is at peace with himself, but it just seems rushed & that everyone involved threw in as many tracks as they could.
Kanye West is a Chicago, Illinois icon that really needs no introduction at this point. From his polarizing public image to his damn near flawless discography, the man has really made a continuous & undeniable impact on hip hop within the past 15 years. However throughout 2019, Kanye has been going around the world with his newly formed gospel-rap outfit Sunday Service performing gospel songs & covers of his discography for an hour. But after teasing fans with listening parties for his 9th full-length album for the past month, he’s actually dropping it worldwide.
The album begins with “Every Hour”, where the Sunday Service choir sing about how we always need God over a bare piano instrumental. The next song the track “Selah” talks about looking back & reflecting upon over an organ while the track Follow God” finds Ye encouraging the listener to find a higher power over a College Dropout-esque instrumental.
“Closed on Sunday” makes painfully corny references to Chick-fil-A over a Timbaland instrumental starting off with an acoustic guitar & later switching up into something more minimalist & ominous while the track “On God” uses the titular expression to address his current well-being along with his past comments on the 13th amendment over a Graduation-inspired instrumental from Pi’erre Bourne.
The song “Everything We Need” by ¥$ & Ant Clemons sees the 3 talking about switching their attitudes over an trap beat co-produced by FNZ, Ronny J & Mike Dean with an organ in the background while the track “Water” with Ant finds the 2 talking about purity over a somewhat funky instrumental co-produced by Timbaland. The song “God Is” sings about how the Lord is victorious & gives him power over a soulful instrumental while the track “Hands On” talks about religion being more prominent in Ye’s life over an intoxicating instrumental.
“Use This Gospel” is pretty much a full blown Clipse reunion as Kanye only does the hook, but I’ll take it. Pusha T & No Malice both talk about seeking forgiveness like they never left over some plinky keys, but the sax solo from Kenny G was unexpectedly good. The album then finishes off with “Jesus is Lord”, where Kanye of course sings about his newfound love for Christ himself over some horns.
While I myself am not the biggest fan of gospel music, this is an underwhelming experience. Kanye truly sounds like he’s legitimately happy & finally at peace with himself in comparison to his last 3 albums, but the mixing is absolutely terrible. The closest he did to patching it up like he did with The Life of Pablo back in 2016 was the Dr. Dre remix of the album & that’s significantly better.
With the release of her average debut VII in 2014 & the birth of her daughter the year after, Harlem recording artist Teyana Taylor is returning with her sophomore album & she has enlisted GOOD Music founder Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety.
The album starts off with “No Manners”, where she sings about her husband Iman Shumpert over some strings & piano chords. The next song “Gonna Love Me” gets romantic over an acoustic instrumental & a beautiful soul sample during the hook while the track “Issues / Hold On”. vents about fighting to keep Iman with her over a mellow guitar. The song “Hurry” with Kanye sees the 2 getting playful over a funky beat with my favorite hook on the entire album while the track “3Way” is about Teyana bringing in another woman for Iman so they can have a threesome over a moody instrumental & the Ty$ verse compliments it so perfectly. The song “Rose in Harlem” talks about being betrayed over some horns & a fitting soul sample while the track “Never Would’ve Made It” is a heartwarming tribute to her daughter over some stuttering drums & piano keys. Unfortunately, the worst song on the entire album would pop up with the closer: W.T.P. (Work This Pussy). The house production is ok, but it’s structured poorly & the vocal sample is annoying as fuck.
Other than that, this is the album that I’ve been waiting Teyana to make (even back in her Star Trak days). It’s passionate, the vocals are a lot stronger as is the songwriting & it’s WAY better produced than her debut. If she & Kanye are gonna work with each other in the future, than I’m all for it
Legends Will Never Die 